Focus On 1.74: Cory Richards @coryrichards on Instagram, a climber and visual storyteller, named National Geographic Adventurer of the Year in 2012.
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Instagram is where great creative and talented people come together.
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Instagramers.com wants to contribute to helping you to discover surprising and creative users from all walks of life. Their common denominator? They are people addicted to Instagram telling us about their lives, revealing their passions and sharing their best Instagram tips.
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Today we are very honored to feature Cory Richards, a North Face Athlete, National Geographic Photographer/Filmmaker and 
hamburger connoisseur from Boulder, CO!
You can check out some of Cory’s most amazing work on his Instagram account!
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I’m a high school dropout with a flair for taking pictures, climbing big mountains, good scotch and hamburgers. I keep all of my things in Boulder CO but I travel roughly 9-10 months of the year…which is either saving or killing my marriage.
I’m moved by images that give us all pause, moments that expose and lend perspective…things that are unexpected, raw and visceral. Those things and the other things that make you laugh so hard you erupt beer or milk from your nose so that everyone else around you laughs so hard they do the same.
Instagram is a fascinating social experiment…but it’s also something that I move in waves with. Sometimes I put it down and other times I’m on it every few hours. It certainly hasn’t changed my life…but it is one of the most fun social media tools we have…and also one of the most impactful. When you think about followings and how many people you can potentially impact with a single image, it’s alarming and really cool. Hooking into that power to share ideas, share your day to day…I don’t think there is anything else out there that is so instant and yet can have such a far reaching impact. The larger your following, the larger your responsibility to not post garbage…or when you do, to make an absolute spectacle out of it…like when Kanye makes a video…
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Thank’s for your contribution to this website Cory!
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Here we go!
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You are: Awkwardly forthcoming.
You would like to be: something I’m currently not.
3 items to take to a desert island: A boat to get home.
What has been your most bizarre life experience: Life.
Super power you would like to have: China.
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In ‘real’ life
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Happy alone (with Instagram), in love, married or it’s complicated: Yes.
You love to: Twist these questions into misshaped answers.
You can’t stand: On one foot after four beers.
A song that best describes you: Would be slightly out of key
Your hobbies: I don’t have enough time for.
A trip you dream of: Shouldn’t stay on a bar napkin.
A quote: Is someone else’s words.
A wish: Isn’t worth shit ‘til you make it happen
Some-one you admire: Wiley Coyote…he just keeps getting up ya know?
What more must we know about you in one phrase: I’ve said too much already
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Your life on Instagram
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Your Instagram birthday: I honestly don’t know
iPhone or Android: I’m a swinger
Did Instagram change your life: I changed Instagram’s life.
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Instagram for professional or personal use: I’m not sure if that line really exists anymore.
Define your style in one word: Stylish.
Daily time spent on Instagram: A combination of minutes and seconds.
Favorite hashtag: #shamelssselfpromotion
A favorite filter: Zig Zags.
An App: They all work the same.
Favorite Gadget: Was an inspector?
Pictures that make you laugh on Instagram: Are generally not of pets or things you ate for breakfast
Pictures that must be forbidden on Instagram: Things that generally don’t make me laugh.
An improvement for Instagram: More
Life without Instagram would be: Less.
An Instagram user we cannot miss: @ladzinski & @andy_mann
Anything else?: Thanks
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Describe your best picture on Instagram: It’s an image of an 80 yr old Bajo spear fisherman Mbo Tadi. They guy was incredible. I wasn’t posting a lot of DSLR at that point, but the experience I had photographing this guy made me break some barriers down in my head. I’m psyched I did..
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How did you take it, any interesting anecdote?: I was using a housing and trying to dive…to keep up with him. Funny thing was we didn’t speak a single word of each others language but you could just tell this guy was a sarcastic, witty old guy who was having so much wearing down the white kid with the big camera. It was hysterical.
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Techniques and equipment used: Lots of breath holding, a little bit of nerve, a lot of hurried patience, board shorts, fins, mask…oh yeah, and a camera.
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Your 10 best tips to take outdoor pics:
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1. Set your alarm
2. Set the coffee maker
3. Get up when your alarm goes off
4. Don’t hit snooze
5. Be ready…seriously…sounds so cliché, but it’s true. Don’t rush out the door. You’ll forget something.
6. Give yourself time…lots and lots of time…as much as you can afford.
7. Don’t think of yourself as a part from the world, think of yourself as a part of it.
8. Strive to be intimate (not in the “I like sheep” kind of way…ya perv)
9. Don’t rely on technology or glass, use it to get what you want.
10. Repeat
Thanks a lot Cory, we wish you all the best in your continuous quest not only of the soul of adventure and exploration, but the beauty inherent in our modern society.
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Here are some more of Cory’s work.
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